Woman, 19, pleads guilty in slaying of Arkansas coupleCONWAY— A 19-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree murder and theft by receiving in the July 2015 shooting deaths of an Arkansas couple. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2sSbxHy ) reports Circuit Judge Troy Braswell sentenced Anastasia Roberts to 15 years in prison as part of a negotiated agreement. Roberts will also be under suspended imposition for 20 years after her release. Defense attorney Jim Wyatt says...

Texarkana prepares to accommodate marijuana businessesTEXARKANA— A city in southwest Arkansas is creating a legal structure to accommodate medical marijuana entrepreneurs approved for state licenses. Texarkana has responded to about 70 to 80 inquiries about opening medical cannabis cultivation centers, City Manager Kenny Haskin told the Texarkana Gazette (http://bit.ly/2toRuBF ). Haskin said some of those potential operators have come with "shovel ready" plans. City officials are working to estab...

Woman shot, wounded while driving on Arkansas interstateLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas authorities are searching for the person who opened fire on a motorist while driving on Interstate 30 in Little Rock. State police spokesman Bill Sadler says 27-year-old Tiara Mitchell was wounded in the shooting Tuesday night on I-30 near the I-630 interchange in east Little Rock. Sadler says Mitchell was eastbound when someone fired multiple gunshots into her vehicle. Sadler says it's believed the gunfire came from som...

Arkansas corrections board approves parole, probation planLITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Board of Corrections has approved a new plan on where to send some parole and probation violators under a law passed this year. The proposal was pushed through Monday by board chairman Benny Magness, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported (http://bit.ly/2tiBvFw ). He said it was developed with input from the Arkansas Community Correction and the Department of Corrections. The Legislature passed a law this year that a...

Part of interstate, overpass in Arkansas closed after crashJONESBORO— A portion of northbound Interstate 555 in northeast Arkansas and a bridge over the interstate are closed after a tractor-trailer rig crashed into the overpass, then exploded and burned. Jonesboro police spokesman Paul Holmes says 57-year-old Jackie Becker of Jonesboro was killed when the semi he was driving apparently went off the interstate Tuesday and crashed into a bridge abutment. Holmes says there is no indication the semi was ...

Arkansas inmate on lam for 32 years visiting mom when caughtLITTLE ROCK — The mother of an Arkansas prison escapee who had been on the run for more than three decades said she has been in contact with her son since soon after his escape and that he was visiting her when he was arrested. Steven Dishman, 60, was arrested Sunday at a home in Springdale in northwest Arkansas by local law enforcement and state troopers, according to the state Department of Correction. Shirley Jones told The Associated Press...

Arkansas' new Ten Commandments monument at Capitol destroyedLITTLE ROCK — A man yelled "Freedom!" as he crashed his vehicle into Arkansas' new Ten Commandments monument early Wednesday, nearly three years after he was arrested in the destruction of Oklahoma's monument at its state Capitol, authorities said. The privately funded Arkansas monument had been in place outside the state Capitol in Little Rock for less than 24 hours before it was knocked from its plinth and smashed to pieces. Michael Tate Ree...

US Army Corps plans to repair levee holes in ArkansasPOCAHONTAS — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials are expected to begin repairing nine sections of a levee along the Black River in northeast Arkansas that was damaged by floods last month. Emergency workers are making plans to cover the holes in case of torrential rains such as the ones in May that caused record river levels in Pocahontas, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2tdEBKL ) reported. "We're looking, if we have another fl...

Man drowns while swimming in northeastern ArkansasLAKE CITY — Authorities say a 32-year-old man has drowned in northeastern Arkansas. KAIT-TV reports (http://bit.ly/2sIRafy ) that the Craighead County Sheriff's Office reported Robert William Hollyfield of Marmaduke drowned Sunday in an area known as Williams Landing near Lake City. The sheriff's office says Hollyfield was among a group of people who were swimming when he went under water and did not resurface. The sheriff's office said deputi...

Arkansas lieutenant governor: No thanks to pay raise planLITTLE ROCK— Arkansas' lieutenant governor says he doesn't want a 2 percent pay raise a panel is recommending he receive. Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin on Friday said he opposes the pay raise proposed by the Independent Citizens Commission. The panel this week recommended a 2 percent raise for the state's constitutional officers, legislators, judges and prosecutors. It's expected to vote on the proposal next week after holding a public hearing on the p...

Ex-Arkansas deputy sentenced in scheme to plant drugsLITTLE ROCK— An Arkansas ex-sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to charges involving a scheme to plant methamphetamine on someone to make an arrest. Drew County Circuit Court records show Robert "Bo" Sanderlin was convicted of using a communication device in commission of a drug offense and abuse of office and sentenced this week. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2sybC2L ) th...

Arkansas panel approves temporary ban on herbicideLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas took the first steps Friday toward temporarily banning the sale and use of an herbicide that has prompted hundreds of complaints and a federal lawsuit from farmers who say it has caused widespread damage to crops. The Arkansas State Plant Board approved the 120-day restriction on dicamba on a 9-5 vote. Dicamba is a relatively inexpensive weed killer but can drift and damage nearby row crops, such as soybeans and cotton i...

Arkansas closer to adopting voter ID lawLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas legislators have approved rules necessary to implement a new voter-identification law that could go into effect as early as September. The state Board of Election Commissioners approved the rules Wednesday for a new law that says voters should show photo identification before casting ballots, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2sunKSh ) reported. Those without photo identification can sign a sworn statement say...

Fort Smith approves new contract with recycling vendorFORT SMITH — Leaders in Fort Smith have approved a new contract with a recycling company, which will end the city's temporary practice of dumping recyclables into the landfill. Fort Smith's Board of Directors approved the two-year contract Tuesday. The city has dumped more than 89 percent of all recyclable materials into a landfill since October 2014 after the city's contract with a recycling vendor expired. The city did not tell residents tha...

Arkansas panel votes to study bathroom bill from sessionLITTLE ROCK— An Arkansas Senate panel has voted to study a bill limiting which restrooms transgender people can use that had stalled in this year's legislative session after facing opposition from the state's Republican governor, tourism groups and LGBT rights supporters. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday adopted the interim study proposal on the measure, which would have required every restroom or changing facility accessible by mul...

Arkansas boy's death spurs review of child care licensingLITTLE ROCK — The death of a 5-year-old boy left in a hot van at a facility overseen by an Arkansas lawmaker has spurred a legislative committee to review existing rules and regulations for child care licensing. Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, and Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, announced the review to the Joint Performance Review panel Tuesday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2rUKtUf ) reported. "We experienced a death of a chil...

Louisiana man killed when semi strikes ATV in ArkansasEMERSON — Arkansas State Police say a Louisiana man was killed when the all-terrain vehicle he was driving was struck by a tractor-trailer rig in southern Arkansas. Police say 23-year-old Jeffrey Hunter of Haynesville, Louisiana, died in the collision on Highway 79 south of Emerson, about one mile north of the Arkansas-Louisiana state line. A state police report says Hunter was northbound on the shoulder of the highway on Monday when he attemp...

Arkansas drops bid to block subpoena over inmate's autopsyLITTLE ROCK —Arkansas officials are dropping their effort to block a request for the records related to the autopsy of an inmate who lurched and convulsed 20 times during his execution. The state Crime Lab on Tuesday filed a motion to withdraw its request to quash the subpoena issued by public defenders who are challenging the state's execution procedures and want records related to Kenneth Williams' death. Williams was executed on April 27. T...

Arkansas women charged in hot van death freed on bondWEST MEMPHIS — Four former Arkansas day care workers charged in the death of a 5-year-old disabled boy who was left in a hot van have been released from jail on bond. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2rRdsrX ) reports that Kendra Washington, Pamela Lavette Robinson, Felicia Ann Phillips and Wanda Taylor were released Monday on $20,000 bonds each. The former employees of Ascent Children's Health Services facility are charged with fe...

Arkansas panel recommends 2 percent raises for officialsLITTLE ROCK — An Arkansas panel recommended a 2 percent raise Tuesday for the state's elected officials and judges, despite a request from the state Supreme Court that it receive an 11 percent bump in pay. The Independent Citizens Commission proposed the pay raise for the state's constitutional officers, legislators, prosecutors and judges, setting up a hearing to receive public comments before it votes on the proposal. The commission was crea...